EVER longed to become more self sufficient and eco-conscious by growing your own fruit and vegetables?

Do you want to cut down on those unnecessary food miles and reduce the amount of waste you throw away?

Cultivating your own crops and creating compost is perhaps not the unattainable dream you may have once thought.

It’s as simple as buying a packet of seeds, finding a container with holes, and throwing out the right type of rubbish, according to one of the country’s leading horticulturists – gardening guru Christine Walkden.

Best known for her regular appearances on BBC’s the One Show and Gardeners’ World, she visited Basildon to tell residents how to produce their own food.

“It’s as easy as opening an envelope of seeds, because that’s basically all you have to do,” declares Christine. “I still marvel at it every time – putting something in the ground and growing it.”

Christine, who believes she’s got through about 30,000 packets of seeds since she began gardening at the age of ten, says there are many benefits of home-grown produce.

“It’s enjoyable, it encourages you to take exercise and, if you are doing it in a community situation, it encourages you to be sociable,” she maintains.

“The environmental and financial reasons are also very important in these times. It saves you money and fresh vegetables taste better. From the garden to the table in 20 minutes is mega fresh. They are healthier too, as no nasty pesticides are used.”

From simple salad crops, such as lettuces and radishes, to the more difficult to grow fruit and vegetables, such as cucumbers and melons, there is something for everyone to attempt.

All you need are the seeds, a container with holes and a bit of compost. “Anything with drainage holes, no matter what shape, is suitable,” says Christine, as she gestures towards a plastic coffee cup.

“You could grow a pepper in that thing! You don’t even have to have a garden. You can grow in window boxes and in grow bags.”

The main problem surrounding home growing, she claims, is peoples’ lack of belief in their ability to succeed.

“The golden rule is don’t give up on the first attempt,” she says. “You don’t always pass your driving test first time, so keep at it, and always read the instructions.”

The other key ingredient to growing your own greens is compost. Not only is this a good way to boost their growth, by acting as a fertiliser, but it’s an effective way of getting rid of waste.

Every year, households in England alone throw away a million tonnes of waste – 200kg per home – that could have been composted at home.

Anything from vegetable peelings and egg shells, to cereal boxes and paper can be composted, but try to avoid diseased and cooked food, or anything in flower.

Christine called in to Basildon town centre to help Essex County Council encourage residents to get creative in their gardens.

Although she grew up in Blackburn, the gardener has a long association with the county after studying and lecturing at Writtle College, near Chelmsford, from the early 1980s.

Residents were treated to demonstrations from Christine, before being given information and free seed packets by council workers.

“We’re encouraging people to compost at home because it’s so good environmentally,” says Emma Cocksedge, a recycling officer at the council.

“Some of the stuff people throw away rots in landfill sites and produces methane gas which contributes to global warming. We need to stop this from happening.”

The council is offering reduced rate compost bins from £22.

Residents are reminded if they cannot compost at home, they can leave garden waste for kerbside collections, and can buy green garden waste compost from the council’s recycling centres. For more information, visit www.essex.gov.uk/recyclingcentres